Law Ministry

Consultations going on for change of rules on identifying fake news: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said amendments to the rules for determining fake news, false news and misrepresentation have been put through a consultation process, but need a lot of deliberations before being enforced. "We are looking towards making certain amendments in the entire election process. I cannot give any commitment because it is a consultation process which is going on. So the definition of fake news, false news and misrepresentation ... these are all important things which require a lot of deliberations. We are doing it," Rijiju told reporters here after inaugurating the Legal Aid office. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 on Thursday. The 2023 amendments confer the power on the ministry to notify a fact-check unit of the Centre that will identify fake, false or misleading online content with respect to any business

Over 450,000 cases pending before courts in Assam: State Law Minister

He claimed that the decision will help the courts to focus on serious offences and other matters

Draft bills in simple language to allow layman understand them: Par panel

Bills should be drafted in a language which helps a layman understand them and reasons for bringing the proposed legislation, a Parliamentary panel has recommended. The department-related parliamentary standing committee on law and personnel also said that currently all the bills that are being drafted by the Legislative Department in the Union Law Ministry can be understood either by the intelligentsia of the country or the people having legal acumen or knowledge. "For a layman to understand the bills which are presented to Parliament is very difficult. The Committee, therefore, would like to recommend that the bills should be drafted in such a simple language so that even a common man can also understand about the proposed objective and implications of the bill like the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 and Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 recently brought by the government," the committee chaired by BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi said. "The key mandate of the Legislative ..

Encroaching powers of other should be fiercely resisted: Law Minister

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said attempts by a constitutional wing to encroach upon the powers of the other should be "fiercely resisted" as it posed a great danger to democracy. Rijiju's remarks at the Commonwealth Law Conference here came days after the Supreme Court ruled that the appointments of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners should be made by the President on the recommendation of a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India. The apex court had also said that the theory that courts cannot or do not make laws was a myth which was exploded a long time ago. "One of the important success story of democracy is a strong constitutional permission which holds for a clear separation of power for the judiciary, executive and legislature. If any wing tries to encroach on the territory of the other wing, it must be fiercely resisted because it poses great danger to democracy ...

Govt to push bill to remove 65 more obsolete laws in Parl session: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government would push a bill in the Parliament session, which will resume on March 13, to repeal 65 more obsolete laws and other such provisions. Addressing the 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference in Goa, the minister informed that more than 4.98 crore cases are pending in various courts in India and the pendency would be handled using technology, with a "paperless judiciary" being the ultimate aim of the government. "Today, in every part of our country, every citizen is a beneficiary of the welfare steps taken by the Government of India. As a welfare state, it is very important that we listen to every individual," he said. Rijiju said the Modi government has been at the forefront of taking various steps, especially in creating "ease of living" for common citizens. "Policies of the government regarding the ease of living are successful," he said. The law minister said the government believes that laws are for the people and if laws .

Union law minister Rijiju lauds use of AI to transcribe SC proceedings

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday lauded Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud's initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) for live transcription of Supreme Court proceedings. In a first, the top court started using AI and Natural Language Processing technology for live transcription of its hearings on an experimental basis from Tuesday. "Honble Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud has taken a great initiative in the Supreme Court by using AI to transcribe hearings," Rijiju tweeted. He said the Supreme Court officially publishes the transcript of the Constitution Bench proceedings. The live transcription has been launched in the court room of CJI Chandrachud. Rijiju has been pushing for the use of AI in the judicial system as well as arbitration proceedings.

Proposals for transfer of 10 HC judges under process: Kiren Rijiju

Proposals for transfer of 10 high court judges are under various stages of processing, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Lok Sabha on Friday. Rijiju's statement comes days after the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over Centre's delay in clearing recommendations for transfer of HC judges, saying it was a very serious issue. In his written reply, the minister asserted that "no timeline" has been prescribed in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for transfer of judges from one high court to another. "As on February 06, 2023, proposals for transfer of 10 high court judges from one high court to other high courts are under various stages of processing," Rijiju said. He said judges of high courts are transferred according to the procedure laid down in the MoP prepared in 1998. As per the existing MoP, the proposal for transfer of high court judges is initiated by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, he pointed out. The MoP further

Pending court cases near 50 mn, initiatives being taken to expedite: Govt

Pending cases across various courts in the country are moving towards the five crore-mark with an over 4.32 crore backlog in subordinate courts, according to data shared by the government in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In separate written replies, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said as on December 31, 2022, the total pending cases in district and subordinate courts was pegged at over 4.32 crore. He also said over 69,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, while there is a backlog of more than 59 lakh cases in the country's 25 high courts. Citing details available on the Supreme Court website, Rijiju said 69,511 cases were pending in the top court as on February 1. "There are 59,87,477 cases pending in high courts across the country, as per the information available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) on February 1, 2023," he said. Out of these, 10.30 lakh cases were pending in the Allahabad High Court -- the biggest high court of the country. The Sikkim High Court has the least num

CCI invokes doctrine of necessity to bypass the quorum to clear six deals

The next meeting of the CCI is scheduled for Tuesday. The watchdog may take a call on some of the remaining 14 deals which are awaiting nod

Govt returned 10 proposals reiterated by SC Collegium: Govt in RS

Amid an ongoing tiff between the Executive and the Judiciary over the procedure to appoint judges, the government has asked the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider 10 proposals reiterated by it, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Out of these 10 proposals, the SC Collegium has reiterated its earlier recommendation for appointment in three cases. On the remaining seven reiterated proposals, the collegium has sought additional inputs from the high court collegium, he said in a written reply to a question. "Ten proposals reiterated by SCC (Supreme Court Collegium) were recently referred back to the SCC for reconsideration," he said. In view of various reports and input received by the government, which in its opinion warrant further consideration by the Collegium, the Centre has sent such reiterated cases for reconsideration as was done in the past as well, Rijiju explained. "There have been instances in the past when the SC Collegium had agreed to the views ...

No provision for reservation in judiciary, says Kiren Rijiju in Parliament

The government informed Parliament on Thursday that the existing policy does not provide for reservation in the judiciary but judges, especially collegium members, have been told to keep in mind sections of people who are not represented adequately while making their recommendations for appointments of judges. During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva asked if the government would consider the possibility of introducing a reservation policy in the appointment of judges. Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "As per the existing policy and provision, there is no reservation in the Indian judiciary." "However, I have already reminded all the honourable judges, especially the collegium members, to keep in mind while recommending the names to include members from backward communities, women and other categories which are not represented adequately in the Indian judiciary," he added. Responding to a separate query on the pendency of cases in Gujarat, Ministe

CCI meeting this Thursday to clear 20 merger deals pending approval

Decision on these applications had been delayed due to lack of full strength of CCI quorum

Country run by people, guided by Constitution: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

The Union Law Minister attended the 150th anniversary of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association in Prayagraj

Law ministry allows CCI to clear pending mergers without full quorum

16 applications pending; corporate affairs ministry studying proposal, say sources

Man with profound knowledge: Om Birla condoles Shanti Bhushan's demise

'Saddened to know about the demise of former Union Minister and eminent lawyer with profound knowledge on constitutional matters Shri Shanti Bhusan Ji'

Former Union law minister and eminent jurist Shanti Bhushan dies at 97

Former Union law minister and eminent jurist Shanti Bhushan died Tuesday at his home in Delhi following a brief illness, a source close to his family said. He was 97. Bhushan, who was also a senior advocate, served as the law minister from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai cabinet. Bhushan, whose sons Jayant and Prashant Bhushan are leading lawyers, was active in the legal profession till recently and had argued on a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the Rafale fighter jets deal. Shanti Bhushan appeared in several cases of public importance. He represented petitioner Raj Narain in the Allahabad High Court in a famous case in which the election of then prime minister Indira Gandhi was annulled for committing electoral malpractices. He was quite vocal on the issue of corruption which led him to his brief association with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Law minister Rijiju suggests inclusion of govt representatives in collegium

Kiren Rijiju has suggested the inclusion of the Centre's representatives in the SC collegium and of the state government in the HC collegiums

Law minister Rijiju reviews performance of matters on railway litigations

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and his junior minister S P Singh Baghel have reviewed the performance of matters related to railway litigations. The Ministry of Railways is considered the biggest litigant among government departments. It is a party to over 66,000 cases pending in courts across the country, according to a June, 2017 document of the ministry. The meeting with officials of the Department of Legal Affairs took place on Friday, officials said. "Union Minister of Law & Justice Kiren Rijiju ji, in the presence of Minister of State for Law & Justice Prof S P Singh Baghel held a meeting on the performance of Railway Litigation Matters along with the officials from the Dept. of Legal Affairs," Rijiju's office tweeted on Saturday.

Vacancies in judiciary to linger till a new system is created, says Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the issue of vacancies and appointments in the higher judiciary would continue to linger till such time a new system is created for the same. Replying to questions in the Upper House of Parliament, the law minister said the Centre has limited powers over appointments of judges. As on December 9, 777 judges are working in the high courts against the sanctioned strength of 1,108, leaving a vacancy of 331 (30 per cent). In the Supreme Court (as on December 5), against the sanctioned strength of 34 judges, 27 are working, leaving seven vacancies. Giving answers to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Rijiju said the total number of cases pending in various courts is about to touch five crore. He observed that the impact of such a huge pendency of court cases on the public is obvious. The minister pointed out that the Centre has taken various measures to reduce the pendency of cases. "Currently, the government has li

Advise Centre to exercise restraint on comments: SC tells attorney general

In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha on December 7 and at a public event last week, vice president Jagdeep Dhankar criticised the Supreme Court's judgement overturning the NJAC